Late to the Party perfectly captures what it feels like to be a late bloomer. This is a coming-of-age novel for queer kids everywhere. It celebrates friendship, first loves, and everything in between. Codi has an incredible friend group who always love and support her, but she still feels like there's something missing. I loved seeing Codi explore making new friends, stepping outside of her comfort zone, and being open to new experiences. Friendship is the main focus of this teen novel but there's also cute romance storylines that teen readers will love. This is a must-read for anyone who feels like their friends are light years ahead of them.

i was hoping to like this when i requested it, but i loved this so much. it's a new favorite of mine. i wish i could go back in time and give a copy of this book to 16 year old me and told her that it's okay to feel this way

i can't think of a single thing i didn't like about this book. i fell in love with all of the characters while reading this - even every single one of the side characters, and i found so much of myself in Codi. i loved watching her grow throughout this book

this book means more to me than i know how to explain with words, and i'm almost 21 so i can imagine how teenagers are going to love this.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a reminiscent and relatable story! I’ve been searching for a worthy queer summer read and this was perfect for that! I love that Codi actually grows throughout the book and learns more about herself. She learns that she’s not just the expectations of who everyone thinks she is, she has the control to break out and form her own interests. The new friend group Codi makes is so heartwarming and uplifting. The drama was done well and didn’t feel like it was forced or heavy handed. It was created from very natural tensions between Codi and the relationships she was trying to maintain and they were resolved in such a wholesome and satisfying way. If you’re looking for a fun summer queer romance, with a great friend group, this is the book for you!

This was such a pleasant and surprising read today!

I ended up diving into this one as my daily work book (I'm starting to run through them in 1-2 days, and this one was a quick, breezy read!) since Quindlen is going to be doing a Q&A for my work and I wanted to have some good questions prepped. I picked it up, settled down with it, and then didn't really move again until I'd finished. Late to the Party is a delightful, real look at what being a teenager is really like, capturing every aspect of the uncertainty and soul-searching that comes along with growing up and growing into yourself. Bonus points all around for this being an Own Voices novel with TONS of queer and nonwhite characters - seriously, representation is endless here, in the best way - and for Quindlen's writing, which easily leads readers through the tangled web of Codi and, truthfully, all our past teen selves' thoughts as teenagers, always feeling a bit out of sync.

Quindlen does a phenomenal job of playing delicately with labels and the way they restrict us in ways I haven't seen before in a YA book. Having queer, diverse characters only further exemplifies her work here, and gives readears - teens and adults alike - a panoramic view on how all these little parts of yourself seem complicated and clashing, but actually just make up you. That's the love song in this novel: your identity is just you, all the little pieces coming together to form something that may seem imperfect and jagged to you (as we are typically our worst critics), but is something loved and appreciated by those in our lives. Because no one is perfect. And yet no one feels that more intensely than our teenagers, who bear perhaps the most heavy label of simply belonging to that age group. Quindlen does a great job explaining that in the first pages of the book, bringing us into Codi's head as she describes having never really grown into that label of teenager. But by the end of it, Codi's friends - new and old - and her brother, Grant show her that the opposite is true. Because the truth of it is that there is no one type of teenager, nor is everyone one shade on a palette. You look at white enough, and you see there's shadows of blue, hints of yellow. (Maybe I'm harping on the art thing because Codi does art... but my point stands!)

I would have loved to have a book like this when I was a teenager. In a lot of ways, I still haven't had a lot of those firsts associated with being a teenager, and I'm twenty-two. That's okay, too. Quindlen does a marvelous job of assuring readers of all ages that yes, they were teenagers, and yes, it's okay if their experience was typical or nontraditional or like Codi's or something completely different. Whenever the day comes that I'm back in my building, and Late to the Party arrives, I can't wait to put it on display for all my tweens and teens to get a hold of. I hope they get to read this story and learn there's nothing wrong with feeling out of place, but - more importantly - that there's nothing wrong with them. Just like Codi, they're all doing just fine being who they are.

This is a book that I would give to my high school self. I like the characters and the development of friendships. I wish that the main character communicated more but I think her lack of communication shows that she's in high school. This will be an important book to a lot of kids.

In every stereotypical teen movie, there are multiple milestones that must be reached for the teen protagonist to have reached their full potential. Prominent examples include going to the prom (Pretty In Pink), first love (Perks of Being a Wallflower), and having your first kiss (Never Been Kissed). Kelly Quindlen’s debut in traditional publishing, Late to the Party, tackles what is perhaps the most iconic of all of the teenage tropes - going to a high school party. This heartfelt tale of growing into a new version of yourself while trying to balance elements from the old you is refreshing in today’s overpopulated teen movie environment. Late to the Party not only allows you to show up whenever you want, but welcomes you with your favorite drink and friends you never knew you missed.

Late to the party was a really fantastic coming of age story about some LGBQTIA+ kids and the struggles to find your identity outside of your closest friends and family.

It’s a really relatable struggle of trying to escape who you were as a kid as you grow up and wrestle with sexuality and so Kelly Quindlen really captures that in this book.

Synopsis: Codi has two best friends from childhood, JaKory and Maritza. Codi is shy and artistic and feels put in a box by her friends. After they try and get her to get out more, she meets some new friends and starts to explore who she is and comes out of her shell. However leaving childhood friends without any explanation because you feel like they are holding you back is going to piss some people off.

This was such a diverse novel and it was really refreshing to see! The characters were complex and I couldn’t decide if I loved them or hated them in all their teenage angst.

My six word review:
Funny, relatable, and full of angst.

Young Adult Contemporary Realistic Fiction. The premise of this story appealed to me because it reminded me of the cheesy movies I watched in high school-- the party that changed everything, that moment in time when all the cliques didn't matter, etc. Codi is starting the summer before senior year the way she starts every summer, with her friends JaKory and Maritza by her side. After they have a coming out conversation (surprise! one of them is gay, one of them is bi, and one of them is lesbian) they start talking about how to met people and how to have new experiences. JaKory and Maritza go to a big party but Codi begs off. She stays home, wondering if she made the right choice, when they call her for a ride home. And what happens to Codi that night sets the stage for a summer of secrets, independence, and friendship in unexpected places.

Codi meets a new set of friends, a potential love interest, and finds herself in the center of a new social circle. Which is exactly what she wanted, but she doesn't want to share this development with her new best friends. Meanwhile, JaKory and Maritza are having their own summer adventures and romances. Can the three friends find their way forward together or will this be the summer that breaks them?

This story kept me reading, I couldn't put it down. I loved seeing how the characters grew, but also how they questioned that growth. There were a lot of different relationships in this book, with most of the dating/love relationships being LGBTQ. Like [book:Reverie|52061964], it made it seem like the straight characters were the exception rather than the norm.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the digital advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a heart wrenching tale of growing up and attempting to find yourself. I have to admit in the first 10% I was considering DNFing this book. I am so glad I didn’t because it was spectacular. It was so hard to read at times though. It’s painful reliving those teenage/high school years when you desperately want to be accepted but you just don’t fit. Codi made sooo many poor choices but I understood where she was coming from with her internal struggles.

Loved it! Super cute, and with great representation of friendships and family. Also fantastic representation of LGBTQ+ teens, and figuring out of their true selves. Highly recommend!

Okay, wow.

Late to the Party by Kelly Quindlen is a personal coming-of-age story about self-acceptance. Codi is a relatable character who wants to do something, to be something more because of how her anxiety and social awkwardness makes it hard for her to connect with other kids in her high school. After a chance encounter with an older student, Codi befriends Ricky as he takes her under his wing. Suddenly, she's making more friends and even a possible summer romance with a cute girl, but how will her old friends react?

Most contemporary books struggle to find the balance between friendship and romance arcs for their main characters. Quindlen, however, succeeds in fully fleshing out Codi's anxieties about the relationships in her life (have they grown apart? Will the cute girl like her back? How do you find yourself when you're starting to feel resentment toward everything and etc?), rounding her out as a deeply relatable character for readers of all backgrounds. I love reading when she and her friends reconciled with their epic road trip, her growing romance between her and the cute girl (I was chanting at them to kiss a lot), as well as when she and her little brother reached an understanding about each other. Being a teenager is messy and Quindlen shows it in all of its forms with family, romance, and friendship.

I also want Netflix to adapt this as their next teen movie.

Easily four stars! Great for fans of Jenny Han and for readers of contemporary YA!

I was given a copy of Late to the Party by NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

This is an amazing story about identity and discovering who you are!! I highly recommend this to anyone who is looking for a story about being who you are and taking your time!

This is the sweetest queer summer romance novel of my dreams. I instantly loved Codi and her pack of friends. Her journey from being with her two best friends to meeting a new group of friends and the tension and excitement that caused was so endearing and real.

This book is sweet and heartfelt and has such a great cast of queer characters .Highly recommend!

I really enjoyed this story. I completely felt the insecurity that Codi and her friends felt. I loved seeing Codi come out of her shell and meet new people and gain new experiences. I understood why she did the things she did. One of the things I love about Kelly Quindlen’s writing is that she makes you feel so many emotions as you are reading and her stories are always so relatable. I loved that we saw diverse characters and got m/m and f/f friendships and relationships. If you’re looking for a contemporary with a f/f sweet romance and summer vibes, this is the book for you.

Great story of how a teenage learns to deal with stepping outside of her comfort zone. Codi seems to be very complacent for the most part in the beginning of this story with her current life. Shes got two great best friends and knows what she likes. But as she sees her younger brother start to have regular teenage experiences, Codi feels like maybe she's been missing out. After one adventure to a normal high school party, Codi starts trying new things and meeting new people. This is a great story about finding yourself but also not losing who you are.

Three besties, Codi, Maritza, and JaKory are stuck in a rut. They only hang out with each other and they want to mix it up. Until Codi has second thoughts. Worried about being gay and hanging out with ‘straight’ kids at a party, Codi goes on her own path to making new friends, having fun at parties, and eventually meeting a girl. Until her two worlds meet, old and new. Emotional rollercoaster of the gay, teen variety.

It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

“You grow up with these ideas about Teenagers, about their wild, vibrant, dramatic lives of breaking rules and making out and Being Alive, and you know that it’s your destiny to become one of them someday, but suddenly you’re seventeen and you’re watching people cannonball into a swimming pool in the pouring rain, and you realize you still haven’t become a real Teenager, and maybe you never will.”

Why this book needs to be on your shelf:

- The title of the book is a pun??
- There is a tight-knit group of friends that you will want to be part of
- Speaking of, friend dynamics and support vs. pressure are discussed!
- The love interest is the softest girl to ever exist
- It’s an ode to late bloomers and wallflowers and everyone who’s ever felt like they are on the sidelines watching life instead of living it

“I think being friends with someone should be like the concept of infinity— like you truly believe that person has no limits, and you just want to keep counting upward with them to see where they go.”

Review:

Late to the Party is one of these books that feels like an eye opener. It’s the kind of quiet book that deserves to make a big splash because it reveals one of the deepest fears of teens everywhere: not measuring up.

Codi and her friends have spent every weekend and every summer break the same way: pining over the fact that neither of them has had a significant other yet to share their life with. In an age where everyone seems to be growing up so fast and sex is almost more a commodity than an actual experience, it’s hard to be on the side of inexperience, especially when everyone keeps bragging how far they’ve gone already. It also begs the question ‘how do you fit in while also standing out?’

I remember reading this tweet about how queer adults often have a do-over of their teenage years when they’re more comfortable in their identity and it just rang very true in this book as well. Perhaps because they don’t fit in with the straight crowd, Codi and her friends are a bit “late to the party” of having first crushes, first kisses, and first heartbreaks. It’s a plotline that deserves all the attention because it’s just so relatable, especially when you’re struggling with your sexuality. Codi never outright admits it, but others see her hiding her true self because she’s scared to break out of the shell that everyone has put her in—not just in terms of liking girls, but being an outgoing, carefree girl when everyone knows her as reliable and timid.

Codi was just so relatable. There’s this perception that’s fed into by movies and TV shows that your teens are just wild and reckless and Codi’s experience shows both sides of the coin. Yes, having a big group of friends can be awesome but it’s also really amazing to have a few best friends who will always be in your corner and drive you to Alabama in the middle of the night to meet up with a boy as well. Friends are people who support you no matter what and the portrayals of friendships in this book are spectacular.

The secondary characters made this book as unique as it is. From Ricky, the guy who does not want to deal with labels, to Lydia who is the personification of a marshmallow (you’ll see once you read the book why this is the only way to describe her), everyone had their own baggage to deal with but still tried to be the best friends they could be. Maritza and JaKory may have the best of intentions but sometimes, they go about getting Codi out of her shell the wrong way and cage her in instead of giving her the space to be okay with herself. But friends stick together, even when they’re annoyed, and that’s what makes them great.

Ultimately, this is a book about friendship and self-acceptance. It chronicles what it means to grow up and explore other sides of yourself while figuring out what that means for the relationships through which you have defined yourself your whole life. There’s also the question of how a significant other fits in with your life and friends group and even though Codi may fail to reconcile these facets of her life, there’s always the chance to try again and get it right next time. Hopeful and a bit rebellious, this book will resonate with everyone who has ever felt like a wallflower and wants to know they’re not alone in taking everything slow. Growing up isn’t a race, it’s a marathon, and this story showcases this beautifully.

A love letter to late bloomers, Late to the Party combines teenage angst with first loves and second chances and emphasises that true friends will always be there for you even as you discover new parts of yourself. Do not be late to the party and get on reading this book!

Once upon a time I was a teenager and trying to figure myself out...this book brought me back to those days. This book is about a 17 year old girl who has recently come out to her friends (and they to her) as they deal with trying to figure out their relationships. This is one of the better books I have read that focuses on this topic and the characters are realistic. I know that it will resonate with some of my students because of the way the author writes about the struggles of teenagers figuring out who they are. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect with this book, but I definitely loved what I got. Late to the Party captured the desire to fulfill the teenage idealization as a LGBTQ+ teenager without glorifying that experience. It was a refreshing take that fills a gap that I feel like YA has always avoided.

I really loved the depiction of the repression in an LGBTQ+ teenager, seen in this book with Codi, a lesbian who’s never had her first kiss; Maritza, her best friend who’s bisexual but hasn’t kissed a girl yet (and really wants to); and JaKory, their other best friend who’s gay and also hasn’t had a relationship. They want to achieve that typical teenager life: hooking up and partying and drinking, so Maritza and JaKory go to a party but Codi refuses to.

When she has to pick them up, she meets Ricky, a popular kid who also happens to be gay. They form a fast friendship, and she soon starts hanging out with him and his friends, not because she doesn’t want to be friends with Maritza and JaKory anymore but because she just feels like they hold her back in a way because they don’t believe that she can change since she doesn’t like change. I wouldn’t say that Ricky mentors her, but he definitely helps her to break out of her shell.

Eventually Codi has to reconcile these two groups in her life, which mirrors the two phases of her life reconciling in herself now: childhood and adulthood, the past repressed self who grows into a more open person. This really shows the growth teenagers go through, that period of insecurity and self-discovering while also wanting to return to childhood, realize you can’t, cry . . . We can’t go back to the people we used to be but that’s okay sometimes.

Anyways, this book had A++ wlw and mlm solidarity! The friend group is the best; all the characters go through so much development. I really loved Codi and her love interest, Lydia! Such a soft f/f ship.

I just really love how this book portrays teenagers who don't party but want to; again, this really showed the repression so many teenagers, particularly LGBTQ+ ones, feel. There is no real one "teenage experience," because we all grow at different rates. I feel like this is an in-between that YA never covers. I don't think I'm expressing just how well this book portrays all these feelings, but I hope you understand it when you read the book. The best way I can put it is that this basically IS Lorde's Pure Heroine album and all the feelings it evokes in book form.

I also really loved seeing how Codi and her younger brother are quickly growing apart because, for one thing, Codi isn’t out to her family, but more importantly, they’re teenagers who are becoming different people from who they were as children. I also liked how they were going through similar things in parallel in a way? Codi’s younger brother is just starting high school and beginning to date, while Codi is about to start her last year yet she’s also starting to date. It’s just another reminder that people grow at different rates.

I highly recommend this book! It was just so amazing in how it depicted overcoming repression and how the true teenage experience is just being a teenager. And it’s super gay! Late to the Party is definitely a stand-out release to me. You don’t want to miss it.